1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing vinegar which enables effective and stable production of vinegar of high concentration and high quality.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has hitherto been known a process for producing vinegar which comprises packing curled wood shavings and the like in a fermentation tower, inoculating and growing acetic acid bacteria thereon, supplying a charging wort for vinegar production from the upper part of the tower, and fermenting the wort while it is being dispersed and let flow down naturally in the tower, and after completion of the fermentation, taking out the whole or a part of the vinegar as the product, replenishing with the same amount of the charging wort as that of the product taken out above, and repeating the flow-down fermentation as mentioned above. This process is called as trickling method.
However, the above process has disadvantages in that the acetic acid bacteria which have been inoculated and grown on the shavings and the like exhibit a low efficiency in acetic acid fermentation, necessitating a large-sized equipment; the equipment is liable to be contaminated with harmful organisms; the efficiency in acetic fermentation decreases with elapse of time; so that a vinegar of high concentration and high quality cannot be stably obtained.